Restoring Hope for Children

Tag Archive: hope

The rest of our Children’s Advent Lessons (Year C) can be found by clicking this link! Objects needed: A seedling, branch, or picture of stump/seedling/nursery log Theme/Main Idea: Even when things seem hopeless, God gives us hope. When nothing is left of the tree but the stump, there is still life there… just waiting for …

One of the most common questions I get from the trauma-affected children I serve is, “Why did God allow [insert really awful, tragic experience] to happen to me?” I imagine it’s a question that most pastors, ministers, chaplains, and those Christians who share their faith with others face. It’s fundamentally a relational question, not a …

Recently, we did an object lesson as part of our Resilience-based series that I call “the Wall.” We talked about how bad things happen in this world despite having a loving God that looks over us. We make bad choices at times that hurt us, and others make bad choices that hurt us. In general, there …

NOTE: Having spent a good portion of the last year focusing on trauma-informed ministry interventions, trainings, and writing resilience-based curriculum, I was drawn back to this post from April 2017. I hope you enjoy this “flashback!” –Chaplain Chris + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Maybe …

Cutting. Self-harm. It is a phenomenon much more common (it seems) today than twenty-two years ago when I entered children’s and youth ministry. It’s certainly not uncommon behavior in the emotionally disturbed children that Intermountain works with. That’s why I felt it was important to share a little with you from a conversation I had …

2018 is here, and it’s the season when most of us consider New Year’s resolutions and even the most cynical among us dares to think that with a little will power we might do any number of things: lose weight, eat healthier, watch less TV, get that promotion, or repair damaged relationships. 2017 was a …

By the time she was 16, “Alyssa” had been kicked out of her house several times by her drug-addicted mother. She bounced between her home and a few different group homes. Her mom told her she was worthless. Alyssa was referred to Intermountain by her school’s counseling staff. She was a kid who was trying, …

Pat Hays has written a devotional book that gives wonderful insight into the joys and struggles that parenting a child with emotional special needs presents. Her book, My Tears in His Bottle: prayers from the heart of a special needs’ mom, contains excerpts from her personal prayer journal as she worked through the last fifteen …

The following message was delivered at Trailhead Christian Fellowship Church on 8/13/17. I could tell I had settled into the role of Chaplain at Intermountain when the following diagnoses no longer startled me: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder; Reactive Attachment Disorder of early childhood or infancy; Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder-Combined Type; Anxiety Disorder; Major Depressive Disorder, Recurrent; Neglect …

The following lesson was included in Lenten materials produced for our ministry partners. It is written for a “children’s sermon” or object lesson in a Sunday school format. We hope it blesses you as we near the end of our Lenten journey to the cross. Easter is coming soon! –Chris. Week 5: “It’s never …